Not only did the BJP’s vote share in Uttar Pradesh plummet from 49.6% in 2019 to 41.4% this time, but it also lost several thousand to 220,000 votes in 72 of the 75 constituencies in which it contested both times. In all, it ended up getting about 650,000 fewer votes this time, despite an increase in its overall vote total in the state.
The list of constituencies where the BJP’s vote share has fallen this time includes Varanasi, where the prime minister won, Gorakhpur, Yogi’s home constituency, Lucknow, Rajnath Singh’s constituency, and Faizabad, which includes Ayodhya. Not surprisingly, Amethi and Rae Bareli are also on the list.
The only three constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP won more votes than it did last time were in the National Capital Region – Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Bareilly and Kaushambi. Even in these constituencies, the BJP’s vote share in 2024 was lower than in 2019 in Bareilly and slightly higher in the other two.
In the last election, the party polled over 86 million votes in Uttar Pradesh, of which the BJP won just under 43 million. This time, the state’s vote total increased slightly to just under 88 million, but the BJP won just over 36 million.
Part of the drop in support was due to the fact that the party did not contest three constituencies it had contested in the last election – Bijnor, Baghpat and Ghosi – but even looking at just the 75 constituencies in which it contested both elections, its vote total fell from 41 million to 36 million, or about half a million. This amounts to an average loss of about 67,000 votes in each constituency.
Of the 75 seats, the BJP’s vote count fell by more than 100,000 in 12, including Mathura, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar and Fatehpur Sekhiri in the west and Gorakhpur in the east. In 36 other seats, the drop was between 50,000 and 100,000. These include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Mainpuri and Varanasi, where the chief minister lost more than 60,000 votes this time.
The BSP had won eight of these 75 seats last time. Of these, the SP and Congress won six this time, with Chandrashekhar winning in Nagina. The BJP, with its own vote tally declining, could not capitalise on the BSP’s decline and could only wrest Amroha.
The list of constituencies where the BJP’s vote share has fallen this time includes Varanasi, where the prime minister won, Gorakhpur, Yogi’s home constituency, Lucknow, Rajnath Singh’s constituency, and Faizabad, which includes Ayodhya. Not surprisingly, Amethi and Rae Bareli are also on the list.
The only three constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP won more votes than it did last time were in the National Capital Region – Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Bareilly and Kaushambi. Even in these constituencies, the BJP’s vote share in 2024 was lower than in 2019 in Bareilly and slightly higher in the other two.
In the last election, the party polled over 86 million votes in Uttar Pradesh, of which the BJP won just under 43 million. This time, the state’s vote total increased slightly to just under 88 million, but the BJP won just over 36 million.
Part of the drop in support was due to the fact that the party did not contest three constituencies it had contested in the last election – Bijnor, Baghpat and Ghosi – but even looking at just the 75 constituencies in which it contested both elections, its vote total fell from 41 million to 36 million, or about half a million. This amounts to an average loss of about 67,000 votes in each constituency.
Of the 75 seats, the BJP’s vote count fell by more than 100,000 in 12, including Mathura, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar and Fatehpur Sekhiri in the west and Gorakhpur in the east. In 36 other seats, the drop was between 50,000 and 100,000. These include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Mainpuri and Varanasi, where the chief minister lost more than 60,000 votes this time.
The BSP had won eight of these 75 seats last time. Of these, the SP and Congress won six this time, with Chandrashekhar winning in Nagina. The BJP, with its own vote tally declining, could not capitalise on the BSP’s decline and could only wrest Amroha.
